It was a whirlwind. Moving box after box in the excruciating heat and humidity. Meeting hundreds of other friendly faces, with all of us just as excited and nervous for classes. Trekking across the long Boston University campus. Starting classes.

3... Excitement had filled the air and after a long Labor Day weekend filled with orientation activities and various gatherings, the students prepared themselves to begin classes last Tuesday morning. For many students, Boston was foreign territory. Some, like me, were from other parts of the US & Canada. Others had travelled thousands of miles from places like China, Kazakhstan, Egypt, and Spain. I had met so many people from other colleges such as MIT, Boston College, and Northeastern.

Many kids were relishing their newly gained independence. Most of us were 18 and loved no longer having parents around considering we were now "adults." Couldn’t we handle anything thrown our way?

2... And then the first night arrived, when we suddenly lost one of our own. During the evening, a fellow classmate of 2020 had been struck by a train. Someone who, just like us, was merely trying to figure out his way in a foreign place. A place full of opportunity, new starts, and many possibilities. And to imagine that someone out there, miles and miles away, would have to get the news that their child they finally left in a new place, was gone. Their child that they spent years raising, loving, and caring for was lost within their first night away. No words could explain it nor would we, the student body, ever be fully able to comprehend that.

1... The days following, I fully reached out to my parents with any advice I needed- whether or not I wanted to continue double majoring in business & pre-med, which insurance to use to cover my physical therapy, and even what phone case to buy. I knew they loved me more than anything and they’d always be there to support. They were the ones who got me here and I knew that finding my dependence here would have to be balanced with still learning to let my family in my life.

Blastoff... So now, with a wonderful roommate, I feel ready to take on my first year of college. While I had entered thinking I was fully dependent on myself, I was thrown off course with challenges in every aspect of my life. With losing another classmate, I learned that time was precious and my parents will always be my best friends. I only hope that over the course of this year, students like me will find their way. It’s a new journey, one that’s been pretty crazy in my first couple weeks here.